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Thinking ahead to the off-season

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Tha Juice
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Thinking ahead to the off-season 

Post#1 » by Tha Juice » Thu Nov 24, 2011 2:30 pm

Just playing off some ideas by another poster on a different forum. Thoughts?

1st pick: Matt Kalil (LT) USC
2nd pick: Chase Minnifield (CB) Virginia
3rd-7th: (BPA) OL, DB/S, LB
Free Agency: Dwayne Bowe (WR) Kansas City Chiefs

WR- Dwayne Bowe, Percy Harvin, Michael Jenkins
TE- Kyle Rudolph
OL- Matt Kalil (R), Steve Hutchinson, John Sullivan, Brandon Fusco, Phil Loadholt
RB- Adrian Peterson, Toby Gerhardt
QB- Christian Ponder

DB- Chase Minnifield(R), Antoine Winfield, Benny Sapp/Brandon Burton/ Marcus Sherels
S- Cedric Griffin, Jamarca Sanford
LB- Chad Greenway, Jasper Brinkley, Erin Henderson
DL- Jared Allen, LeTroy Guion, Kevin Williams, Brian Robison

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WR- I know it would be huge to acquire Bowe through FA but I think it's not too far fetched. He can be that #1 and help Harvin in the slot. I think Jenkins is a nice 3rd option, solid run blocker, big, and has good hands.

OL- Kalil would help Ponders blind side, big improvement over Johnson. Even though Hutch has been a disappointment this year I think we keep him to show Kalil the ropes and who knows maybe his game will improve with better players around him. I think John Sullivan is the least of our worries on the line. I put Fusco at G to see what you guys thought. He has a high motor and is a good run blocker. I think Loadholt will be replaced down the line but I think he returns as a starter next year. Maybe DeMarcus Love will win that spot next year?

RB/QB- No explanation needed.

DB- Just thinking outside of the box on this one. I don't think Cook will be returning so with that in mind I'd go with Minnifield who should available in the early 2nd round. He's plays good man and zone coverage, good at stopping the run. Hopefully Winfield can return back to health and one of our young guys can step up. Very unfortunate because I think a Minnifield and Cook secondary could've been very solid for years to come. I guess we'll have to see how that whole situation plays out with the courts and Vikings.

S- I'm not convinced Griffin can play corner effectively after two ACL injuries anymore as we've seen this year. How would you feel about him switching over to safety? I think he could be a nice option there even though it's difficult to convert to that position. I would've said Winfield but he has stated that he's not interested in switching to safety at this stage in his career.

LB- Greenway is a lock, EJ will be a FA and is he worth another contract at 31? He's terrible in pass coverage and has gotten beat numerous times this season. I think Erin has played well for the most part and should return.
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Re: Thinking ahead to the off-season 

Post#2 » by Worm Guts » Thu Nov 24, 2011 7:08 pm

Kalil and Bowe would be a huge offseason, but I wonder if we really should go for the big free agent splash. We've still got a lot of holes and a tough division. Should we spend alot of money if we're not going to contend anyway? Of course we've got veterans like Allen and Peterson who won't be happy with another season like this.
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Re: Thinking ahead to the off-season 

Post#3 » by hermes » Fri Nov 25, 2011 4:00 am

bowe? :droop:

o-line and the defensive backs need to be the focus, and how pressing is backup rb? can gerhart continue to fill that role or do we need to do something else

and what about shiancoe? i mean i love rudolph more than most people but shiancoe isn't a free agent is he?
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Re: Thinking ahead to the off-season 

Post#4 » by Tha Juice » Fri Nov 25, 2011 10:00 am

Worm Guts wrote:Kalil and Bowe would be a huge offseason, but I wonder if we really should go for the big free agent splash. We've still got a lot of holes and a tough division. Should we spend alot of money if we're not going to contend anyway? Of course we've got veterans like Allen and Peterson who won't be happy with another season like this.


That's a good point. I'm not sure what our cap situation will look like either after this season so it might not be a realistic option.


hermes wrote:bowe? :droop:

o-line and the defensive backs need to be the focus, and how pressing is backup rb? can gerhart continue to fill that role or do we need to do something else

and what about shiancoe? i mean i love rudolph more than most people but shiancoe isn't a free agent is he?


I think Gerhart is least of our worries right now. He's averaging 4.9 yards per carry this season. He's a better pass blocker than Peterson and seems to have solid hands out of the backfield. I'm actually really looking forward to seeing what he can do with more carries.

Shiancoe will be an unrestricted free agent.
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Re: Thinking ahead to the off-season 

Post#5 » by hermes » Sat Nov 26, 2011 2:59 am

should we keep shiancoe around? i know we have rudolph but other teams have had some pretty good success with the two tight ends
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Re: Thinking ahead to the off-season 

Post#6 » by Tha Juice » Sat Nov 26, 2011 3:56 am

hermes wrote:should we keep shiancoe around? i know we have rudolph but other teams have had some pretty good success with the two tight ends


Shiancoe is one of my favorite current Vikings players and I think we should keep him as long as we don't overpay for him. If he can get a 2+ year contract he'll probably be gone.

I was expecting to see more from Rudolph by this stage in the season. He had a pretty good game last week and would've liked to see him continue that this week but he's listed as doubtful vs. ATL. Without a doubt Rudolph is talented but it looks like he has trouble creating separation and blocking. I guess that can be said for pretty much on offense this year, though. :lol:
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Re: Thinking ahead to the off-season 

Post#7 » by The J Rocka » Sun Nov 27, 2011 9:07 pm

Worm Guts wrote:Kalil and Bowe would be a huge offseason, but I wonder if we really should go for the big free agent splash. We've still got a lot of holes and a tough division. Should we spend alot of money if we're not going to contend anyway? Of course we've got veterans like Allen and Peterson who won't be happy with another season like this.

I'd say go for Bowe. He's still young but proven. We need to try and keep that winning atmosphere for AP, JA, etc. versus being quiet in FA and building from the next 3 drafts wasting their primes.

If we can draft Kalil, another OL or a DB in 2nd, and continue to fills holes via FA we should be solid and go from there.

What will hold this team back is the coaching staff.
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Re: Thinking ahead to the off-season 

Post#8 » by Tha Juice » Sun Nov 27, 2011 10:54 pm

I know a lot of people (none here that I know of) have become frustrated with Frazier and want him fired but he'll probably be back next year with Zygi still paying Childress. Frazier has been handcuffed by the Childress era and all of those signings from that Super Bowl run and really hasn't been able to bring in players he really wanted. Weeding out some of the players on our current roster and giving the extensions to Greenway and Peterson should allow us some cap space which we didn't have last year.

What I would like to see this off-season with our current roster. Of course all of them happening is probably unlikely.

QB
McNabb (FA- don't sign)

OL
Steve Hutchinson (restructure, trade, waive) 2012: 6.9 million
Charlie Johnson (FA- don't sign)
Anthony Herrera (bench, waive) 2012: $2.65 million
Phil Loadholdt (bench)

WR/TE
Devin Aromashodu (FA- don't sign)
Greg Camarillo (FA- don't sign)
Jim Kleinsasser (FA- don't sign)

LB
Visanthe Shiancoe (RFA-don't sign)
Xavier Adibi (FA- don't sign)
Erin Henderson (FA- sign possible starter/depth)
EJ Henderson (waive, trade) 2012: $4.7 million
Kenny Onatolu (FA- sign for special teams)

DL
Remi Ayodele (waive, trade) 2012: 3 million
Fred Evans (FA- don't sign)
Letroy Guion (FA- offer deal)

CB/S
Tyrell Johnson (FA- don't sign)
Husain Abdullah (FA- don't sign)
Benny Sapp (FA- don't sign)

It would be nice to restructure Antoine Winfield's contract who will be 35 this summer. He's been injured quite a bit the past few seasons (toe, neck, shoulder). He'll make 7.25 million next season and 7 million the year after.
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Re: Thinking ahead to the off-season 

Post#9 » by Worm Guts » Mon Nov 28, 2011 12:02 am

That seems like excessive turnover, especially on the offensive line. We're not going to be able to upgrade 4 of our starting lineman.
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Re: Thinking ahead to the off-season 

Post#10 » by hermes » Mon Nov 28, 2011 12:09 am

you want a whole new offensive line? unless you bring in 5 guys who've played together for years that probably won't be good
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Re: Thinking ahead to the off-season 

Post#11 » by Tha Juice » Mon Nov 28, 2011 1:57 am

Worm Guts wrote:That seems like excessive turnover, especially on the offensive line. We're not going to be able to upgrade 4 of our starting lineman.


hermes wrote:you want a whole new offensive line? unless you bring in 5 guys who've played together for years that probably won't be good


Ah crap, I forgot to change it in my previous post. I'm not expecting us to come into next season with a completely new line, I only see us replacing 2 lineman at the most by next year. One being LT and the other, RG.

I don't see Charlie Johnson returning for obvious reasons. Hopefully he'll be replaced by our 1st round pick.

I also expect us to keep Hutchinson. Even though he's declining I think it's important that we have his veteran presence and leadership.

I think Sullivan has been fairly decent this season. He'll be a FA but I could see us offering him a contract. If he gets replaced down the line I think he would be nice as a backup player and for depth purposes.

Not sure what will happen at RG. Herrera can't seem to stay healthy, Berger has been okay but not sure the length of his contract.

I also think Loadholdt will be back at RT unless he gets beat out by someone in camp.

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